Heber Valley Life

Tag: Spring

  • Mocktails

    Mocktails

    Sparkling Ginger & Lemon Mocktail

    A Love Story

    Nothing belongs together quite so beautifully as ginger and lemon. Let’s combine a little zing with some sparkling freshness.

    Ingredients

    • 3 inches of fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
    • ¾ cup sugar or sugar substitute, plus extra for
      tossing the ginger and rimming the cup
    • 1½ cups water
    • ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4-6 lemons)
    • Seltzer water to fill the glasses (3 cups)

    Method

    • Slice the ginger into slivers.
    • Heat sugar, water, and ginger slivers over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar melts. Let boil for 20 minutes, until the syrup begins to thicken. Remove from heat, strain the ginger slivers, let cool.
    • Fancy it Up!: Lay the ginger slivers on a baking sheet to cool. After 5 minutes, toss with a tablespoon of sugar.
      Let cool.
    • Wet the rim of each glass and dip it in sugar to coat.
    • Divide the cooled ginger syrup between four glasses. Divide the lemon juice between four glasses. Fill each glass with seltzer water.
    • Garnish with a piece of candied ginger. Stir before serving.

    Cheers!

    Ginger lemon
    Blood orange

    Blood Orange Cooler

    Permission to Get Fresh

    Springtime is all about the unexpected. This refreshing cooler is the perfect sip-worthy beverage to sit back and contemplate all the spring-cleaning and spring-planting projects you are about to undertake.

    Ingredients

    • 4 ounces freshly squeezed blood orange juice
    • 4 ounces coconut water
    • 1/2 lime juiced
    • 2 ounces seltzer water flavored or unflavored — we recommend a blood orange flavored seltzer!
    • Lime slices for serving

    Method

    • Fill a mason jar or glass with ice.
    • In a pitcher, combine the blood orange juice, coconut water, lime juice and stir or shake together.
    • Pour over the iced glass.
    • Top off with the seltzer for some fizz!
    • Garnish with lime slice.

    Cheers!

  • The Truth is Out There

    The Truth is Out There

    Do we have any X-Files fans in the Heber Valley? I loved this sci-fi TV drama when it was airing. For the younger, binge and streaming-on-demand crowd — we used to have to wait until the program aired on network TV to view new episodes. I would count the days in anticipation. When that time arrived, I would make popcorn, turn off the lights and try to maximize the suspense and weirdness that each chapter seemed to unfold. All anticipation would build to a satisfying crescendo as the eerie and oddly low budget theme music and into sequence rolled out. What a fantastic TV series!

    The series’s central characters were two FBI agents assigned to work together on ‘unsolvable’ cases, often leaning towards the paranormal. Fox Mulder, portrayed by actor David Duchovny, was a brilliant FBI agent pigeonholed because he believed in aliens and paranormal phenomena. Nevertheless, he could substantiate his work enough to give himself a job with conditional oversight. That supervision came from a skeptical partner, Dana Scully, played by Gillian Anderson. She came with medical and religious backgrounds that would counterbalance Fox Mulder’s tendency to gravitate to strange and unconventional case theories.

    I always felt that the interplay between science, faith, and the unexplainable was fascinating in this series. Mulder and Scully were always trying to find the truth, even if that truth was bizarre and counterculture. Dana Scully went through an exciting transition as the cases piled up. Necessity tested her societal boundaries of commonly accepted occurrences and her dependence on factual data. She was forced, through difficult experiences, to utilize the full breadth of her imagination for problem-solving when observable variables would not align.

    Cases became X-Files because caseworkers were resistant to entertaining the improbable. They lacked the ability for unrestrained and imaginative free thought. Throughout the series, the evolution of Dana Scully illustrates the human capacity to live in a world of imagination simultaneously rooted in reality.

    Imagination is the precursor to innovation. When seemingly impossible scenarios arise, there will be two types of people: the critics and the innovators. Standalone critics generally cannot imagine new possibilities. Their perceptions stagnate in a pattern where flaws are acutely referenced, but no implementable solutions accompany the grievance. An innovator can see problems as clearly as the critic. The difference is that innovators avoid the negativity and futility of complaint patterns and embrace the creative thought process of action and problem-solving.

    The American novelist Mark Twain stated, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” I love this quote because it can take on several meanings if you daydream about it for a moment or two. At face value, I believe Twain suggests that if individuals cannot think for themselves, they tend to believe anything they are told. The eyes alone can collect information, but it takes a mind to process it into something relevant. Deception will come very quickly to those who do not learn to filter what they see and embrace free thought.

    Free thinking is a virtue, a skill, and an attribute that is all too scarce in our modern ‘age of information’. Our days are perpetually inundated with ads and messages that tell us what we should think and believe. Instant information availability has led to a lack of another virtue, patience. It is common to buy into a brand and accept the product as absolute without consideration of the motivation behind the message. Between the hectic pace of our daily tasks and the perpetual noise from the almighty messengers, there is little time for peace, meditation, and the free flow of creative thought.

    The truth is out there — but it is reserved for those willing to search for it. Many of the problems that we face today are as absurd and improbable as a storyline from the X-Files. It will take the honest effort of a creative mind to navigate the minefields of agendas and half-truths set by those that would like to tell you how to think.

    Spring is a time for rebirth. I challenge the Heber Valley to prioritize time every day for quiet and calm. Use that peace to think deeply about whatever issue ails you. In that quiet space, you will recover your capacity to think with clarity. The truths you seek will more readily come to focus as your eyes, mind, and heart align.

    Thank you for being so supportive of Heber Valley Life magazine. I hope you find this edition as uplifting and inspiring as the landscape we call home.

  • Stepping into Spring Time

    Stepping into Spring Time

    Are you tired of running from your car into your home, then back to your car, then to school, work, or the grocery store for the past few months? Well, guess what? That part of the year is over!

    The time has come to step into spring and rediscover the outdoor world, as our beautiful Heber Valley blossoms all around us. We call it “springtime,” but sometimes it feels more like ‘uncertainty season’ as our weather changes daily from sunshine to snow to rain and back to sun again. It’s a churning, and a season children in the valley look forward to, knowing they can finally start walking to school again wearing t-shirts, a windbreaker, and shorts. (However, you might want to pack them a coat, a hat, and some gloves, just in case. I hear there’s a chance of snow.)

    Yes, it’s springtime folks! A season synonymous with rebirth, love, and feelings of renewal. A time we welcome the beauty of new flora as we anxiously await the arrival of the infamous, “snow-art-horse-head” on our side of Mount Timpanogos so we know when to plant our gardens. (If you’re not familiar with this spectacle, ask a local farmer or google it. It’s cool.) And to celebrate, here’s a few rides we suggest you take now before our summer tourists snag up most of the good reservation times!

    RIDE A ZIP LINE

    If you’re looking for team-building challenges for your gang, then consider Zipline Utah, a high adventure activity located on the shores of Deer Creek Lake. With the longest continuous zip line course in the world; this memorable activity will blow their minds. ziplineutah.com

    RIDE IN A BALLOON

    Skywalker Balloon Company offers daily flights out of Heber Valley Airport. Spectacular views with a vantage point that changes the higher you go! A calming experience that feels like you’re casually walking through the sky. skywalker.at

    RIDE A GOLF CART

    Heber has five beautiful public golf courses to choose from, including two at Soldier Hollow, two at Wasatch Mountain State Park, and one at The Homestead Resort. They’re all amazing and affordable. gohebervalley.com/golfhebervalley

    RIDE YOUR BICYCLE

    With endless trails to explore, and friendly roads to take you there, riding a bike is one of the quickest ways to experience the outdoors. There’s no barrier to entry. Just hop on your bike and start peddling. But please watch out for wet trails. If the mud is deep, turn around and let the trails dry out. And if your gear needs a tune up, visit Slim and Knobby’s. slimandknobbys.com

    RIDE ON A HORSE

    Enjoy riding on the back of a magnificent horse with Rocky Mountain Outfitters. With your personal, knowledgeable, guide leading the way; they’re country trail ready for you, whether you’re a novice (greenhorn) or an experienced cowboy. rockymountainoutfitters.com

    FLY A KITE

    Whether you create a one-of-a-kind pinterest worthy masterpiece, purchase one from your local grocery store, or dust off the one you’ve had stuffed in a bin in your garage for 10 years; Wasatch County is full of open spaces — and spring (usually) offers the perfect weather — so, ‘let’s go fly a kite!’ (100 points to the one who can channel ‘Mary Poppins’ while singing the entire song — by heart.)

    On that note; remember most of these experiences can be enjoyed almost anytime (weather permitting), and some require advanced reservations so be sure to check ‘em out before driving out. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for these fun local spring-only outdoor events.

    ZERMATT RESORT

    This year, over Easter weekend (April 14-16), Zermatt Resort will host their annual “Springtime Extravaganza” with an egg hunt and breakfast with the Easter Bunny! Reservations required. They also host a very popular Mother’s Day Brunch (May 8) inside their Z’s Steak and Chop House. zermattutah.com

    KOHLER FAMILY FARM

    In addition to daily milk barn tours, goat yoga classes (what?), and V.I.P. calf-feeding experiences (what? what!), the Kohler Family Farm will host Baby Animal Days April 22-23. Learn about farm animals, take a hay ride, and munch on some of their incredible homemade artisan cheese. If it rains you can always take it inside and participate in a mozzarella making class. hebervalleyartisancheese.com

    Speaking of inside — here are a few great indoor activities to consider — for when that proverbial ‘spring-time snow storm’ decides to hit. And if it doesn’t come — oh well — do them anyway!

    GO TO THE MOVIES

    Whether in the comfort of your own home or at The Avon; There’s nothing like a good movie, and buttery theatre popcorn, accompanied by an ice-cold carbonated drink to shake you out of the bad-weather blues. hebercitytheatre.com

    ENJOY LIVE THEATRE

    Improv-comedy troupe, The Belvederes, will be performing on the last Saturday of every month, at the newly renovated Timpanogos Valley Theatre. High Valley Arts will be performing “Shrek, Jr” in April and “The Sound of Music” in July, while TVT is doing “Pirates of Penzance” in April. Yo ho, let’s go! timpvalleytheatre.com highvalleyarts.org

    THE UTAH CRATER

    One of Midway’s hidden treasures; this geothermal spring, 10,000 years in the making, stays between 90-96 degrees all year long. Not only is it a relaxing place to get away; it’s also one of the few places in the state where you can snorkel, swim, or dive to depths of 65 feet. People from all over the world come here to get scuba certified. utahcrater.com

    WASATCH COUNTY EVENTS COMPLEX

    There are several equestrian events happening inside our events complex, including the ZD Cattle “Luck of the Irish” roping event March 18-19, a Utah Barrel Racing Association competition April 22-24, and the Utah junior high and high school rodeo finals on select dates May 26- June 11. Spectators are always welcome to this family-friendly event. And don’t worry, cowboy hats and boots are not required. wasatchparksandrec.com/events

    HOLIDAY LANES

    Up for a little friendly competition with family and friends? Bowling is a fantastic mix between mild and fun exercise, amiable competition (well mostly-there’s always one overachiever in the group), conversation, good food, and delicious shakes! All for a reasonable price.

    FIELDCRAFT SURVIVAL

    If you’re not familiar with Fieldcraft Survival, may I suggest you look them up. With everything from survival and family/emergency preparedness online webinars, to in-person workshops, and live training courses — including cool indoor virtual courses for firearm and personal safety training — this is a great place to not only visit but learn something new too. fieldcraftsurvival.com

    WASATCH COUNTY RECREATION CENTER

    You could literally spend all day here! Perfect for self-care days, date night, family night, or a great place to get noisy and hang out with a group of friends — the rec center has a plethora of activities to choose from including: basketball, racquetball, volleyball, tennis, pickle ball or simply running around their endless fields of Astroturf! wasatchparksandrec.com

    So, yes folks, spring is here! And regardless of our ‘uncertain weather’ I highly suggest doing ‘all the things’ whenever you can!

    P.S. Don’t forget your jacket!

Translate